Haken thread v. "Evening With" tour (some set spoilers)

[me7]

I like it as a single. The vocal delivery actually breaks some new ground, Ross never sounded so Tool-ey to me. The music is a nice recap of Haken in a nutshell.

[hefdaddy42]

I really liked Taurus.

[mike099]

The venue for the Nashville show will be the Exit/inn, the same venue the last time they were in Nashville with Leprous.  This venue was recently sold and then vandalized shortly after the sale.  Basically the place was gutted and needed a remodel anyhow. 

[emtee]

Six spins later and it's still not moving the dial. Don't love it.

[ariich]

Six spins later and it's still not moving the dial. Don't love it.

I find the idea of listening to a single over and over a bit odd. I'd suggest waiting until the album, and then giving that repeat listens.

[emtee]

Not sure what's odd about it. I love the band. I'm anxious for the album but the singles are all I have so I dive in. I do the same for every highly anticipated album and every band I love.

[goo-goo]

Not sure what's odd about it. I love the band. I'm anxious for the album but the singles are all I have so I dive in. I do the same for every highly anticipated album and every band I love.

I stopped listening to singles because if I didn't like one or two, then I would dismiss the complete album and turn it off once I got to the singles that I hadn't liked in the actual album. Weird behavior...lol

[ariich]

Not sure what's odd about it. I love the band. I'm anxious for the album but the singles are all I have so I dive in. I do the same for every highly anticipated album and every band I love.

Yeah I completely realise you're far from the only one who does it. Maybe it's because I'm very much an album listener, but when I know singles really well, I find it a more awkward experience trying to get into the album when it comes out. So with all bands, I might check out the singles once (or sometimes not at all) but otherwise wait for the album.

Plus, I often find that a lot of songs work better as part of the album than on their own.

[cramx3]

Six spins later and it's still not moving the dial. Don't love it.

I find the idea of listening to a single over and over a bit odd. I'd suggest waiting until the album, and then giving that repeat listens.

Not sure it's odd.  Sounds like someone trying to enjoy a song that they don't initially like but since they like the band, they are giving it more shots.  But I actually agree.  I listened a couple times and it didn't click.  I'll just wait for the album now before giving more listens.

But it also goes for the songs I like.  Alphabet of Me was pretty good, I gave it a couple more listens, but it's shelved now until the album comes out.  I don't want to over play it either.

Having said all that, I'm going to lower my expectations a bit.  All three songs are really different and offer something unique, but all three songs are maybe a bit too jazzy and proggy I guess (maybe a weird comment for a band like Haken, I know).  I found only one of the three had the melodic elements that I enjoy in Haken.  And when that's missing, it's a lot harder for me to enjoy the over the top prog elements.  I'm just going to have to wait until the album releases, but I have a feeling this won't be my album of the year like Virus was.

[emtee]

I'm an album guy too. Always and forever.

[The Letter M]

Not sure what's odd about it. I love the band. I'm anxious for the album but the singles are all I have so I dive in. I do the same for every highly anticipated album and every band I love.

I stopped listening to singles because if I didn't like one or two, then I would dismiss the complete album and turn it off once I got to the singles that I hadn't liked in the actual album. Weird behavior...lol

This has been my mind-set for the last several years as well. I may listen to one or two of an album's singles once or twice, but after that, I try to forget about them until album release. Usually it's less than four months from the first single so it's not that long of a wait. I'd much rather be surprised by the whole album as a musical statement than a piece of it plucked out by the label for release as a single, especially if it's edited (as with Riverside's latest album's singles). A lot of rock, metal, and prog music tend to be written and arranged with the album in mind, so I'd rather absorb the music with that complete statement intact.

-Marc.

[Glasser]

Taurus is one ,if not the weakest track on the album but I like it. The album is absolutely incredible. When I listen to the first few albums compared to where they are now they keep getting heavier but still Haken with a dose of Vola. The way Haken are trending they will be what Novena are.

[The Letter M]

Taurus is one ,if not the weakest track on the album but I like it. The album is absolutely incredible. When I listen to the first few albums compared to where they are now they keep getting heavier but still Haken with a dose of Vola. The way Haken are trending they will be what Novena are.

I haven't listened to "Taurus" yet but considering how some are saying it is their weakest single of the album, would you compare this to the way "Invisible Monster" was for DT's AVFTTOTW, a song which many consider to be the weakest of the album, but was still released as a single? I wonder if this is a trend in prog metal albums now - release one of the weakest songs as a single so you save the best for the full album release? 

-Marc.

[cramx3]

Taurus is one ,if not the weakest track on the album but I like it. The album is absolutely incredible. When I listen to the first few albums compared to where they are now they keep getting heavier but still Haken with a dose of Vola. The way Haken are trending they will be what Novena are.

I haven't listened to "Taurus" yet but considering how some are saying it is their weakest single of the album, would you compare this to the way "Invisible Monster" was for DT's AVFTTOTW, a song which many consider to be the weakest of the album, but was still released as a single? I wonder if this is a trend in prog metal albums now - release one of the weakest songs as a single so you save the best for the full album release? 

-Marc.

This isn't new though.  I think it just comes down to prog fans find the more straight forward tracks to be the least interesting and the music business thinks those tracks are best for the average listener to try and engage further with the band.  It's hard to disagree with both sides.  Having said that, I actually enjoyed Invisible Monster and I find Taurus to not be quite so straight forward although it is a shorter track.

[ariich]

Taurus isn't that straightforward but, Gojira-style riff aside, it's a pretty safe song for Haken. That makes it a good single, but is also why some fans (though far from all, some people are loving it) don't find it that exciting.

Personally, while I like the chorus, I think it's the least engaging one on the album and there's not enough else in the song to elevate it above anything else on the album. But this is in the context of me finding the album amazing.

[The Letter M]

I just realized that with the release of "Taurus", the album's first three tracks are available to listen, so maybe I'll spin all three back-to-back to have a semi-album experience. That still leaves six more songs to discover in six weeks!

-Marc.

[ariich]

On Reddit some people had asked what I thought of the album, so seeing as it's not that far until release now and promo copies of the album have been sent out, I replied with a sort of mini review which I thought I'd replicate (replicate, replicate) here. Feel free to ask other questions if you have them, DTF is my online home so I don't mind being a bit more open here!

---------------

Ah what the hell, it's not all that long until release now. I'll give a few impressions. Keep in mind I can't claim to be wholly unbiased due to my personal connection to the band, but I don't think it has a strong bearing on how much I love their music.

Overall, it's among my favourite Haken albums. I don't yet know if it'll top The Mountain which is incredibly special, but I'm confident it's pipped Vector/Virus and Affinity (and indeed the others). I'd say it's their most varied album, but it works because it still all sounds like Haken, if that makes sense. It's very intricate rhythmically, but it's not super technical or anything. Or rather, it's not super any-one-thing. There's heavy stuff and jazz-influenced stuff and pop-influence stuff and quirky proggy stuff and emotional stuff. It's a very balanced album. It reminds me most of The Mountain and Affinity, but has elements of their other albums too, as well as some new stuff.

And just to tease a bit, a few thoughts on vibes I get from each song (non-exhaustive, a mix of Haken and non-Haken, and sometimes it's the song as a whole, others it's just specific parts):

1. Taurus - Initiate, Gojira
2. Nightingale - Mountain, Visions (album), Leprous
3. The Alphabet Of Me - Red Giant, Everything Everything
4. Sempiternal Beings - Mountain, Vector/Virus
5. Beneath The White Rainbow - Mountain, Tigran Hamasyan
6. Islands In The Clouds - Porcupine Tree, Host
7. Lovebite - Earthrise, Visions (album)
8. Elephants Never Forget - Devin Townsend, Gentle Giant, Rammstein, Visions (song)
9. Eyes Of Ebony - Affinity, Tigran Hamasyan

[me7]

Do you know if another single is planned before release?

[ariich]

I do know.

[King Postwhore]

Can you hammer a six-inch spike through a board with your penis?

Not right now Rich  : A Haken fan gotta have his standards.

OK. I can't wait for the album.

[emtee]

Fauna popped up on my Amazon Prime for pre-sale yesterday for the first time.

[jammindude]

Can you hammer a six-inch spike through a board with your penis?

Not right now Rich  : A Haken fan gotta have his standards.

OK. I can't wait for the album.

REAL GENIUS!!! 

[Kwyjibo]

Fauna popped up on my Amazon Prime for pre-sale yesterday for the first time.

Funny how that works, I have ordered my copy roughly a month ago on Amazon Germany.

[me7]

Rich is trolling us, and I love it 

[NoFred]

I do know.

I assumed no, but socials are suggesting there is, nice! Cool artwork again.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoKu19pM0v3/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

[Nick]

Yup, and it was just confirmed, Lovebite looks to be a Vday single.

[The Letter M]

And at 3:49, it looks to be the shortest song on the album. Is it also their shortest pre-release single as well?

-Marc.

[Zydar]

I think I will keep from listening to the single actually. It's pretty close to the album release - and it will be their 4th pre-release single. That's almost half the album.

[ariich]

I think I will keep from listening to the single actually. It's pretty close to the album release - and it will be their 4th pre-release single. That's almost half the album.

Actually it's only just one third of the album's runtime, because other that the early single of Nightingale (which is why there are 4 this time), the rest are all the short songs.

[Zydar]

I think I will keep from listening to the single actually. It's pretty close to the album release - and it will be their 4th pre-release single. That's almost half the album.

Actually it's only just one third of the album's runtime, because other that the early single of Nightingale (which is why there are 4 this time), the rest are all the short songs.

That's true, I didn't think about the runtime. Just the number of tracks on the album vs the singles.

[ariich]

I think I will keep from listening to the single actually. It's pretty close to the album release - and it will be their 4th pre-release single. That's almost half the album.

Actually it's only just one third of the album's runtime, because other that the early single of Nightingale (which is why there are 4 this time), the rest are all the short songs.

That's true, I didn't think about the runtime. Just the number of tracks on the album vs the singles.

Yeah for sure. I think if the songs they planned to release as singles were longer and took up more of the album, they might well have only gone for two more singles in the 3-month promo period instead of the usual three (which is basically industry standard now). But because they were short, they figured they'd just go with the default as most of the album will still be unheard. Compared to the last two albums, as a proportion of the runtime these four singles only take up slightly more (35%) than the three Virus singles did (33%), and less than the three Vector singles (37%).

[Fritzinger]

Did anyone else get a mail saying that their order has been shipped 

[King Postwhore]

Connor's video for the new single his hilarious. 

[me7]

Did anyone else get a mail saying that their order has been shipped 

Where did you order from?
I ordered at Inside Out shop EU, no shipping confirmation yet.

[hefdaddy42]

Unless it's from Dream Theater or the single itself just literally blows my mind, I normally listen to singles once, on release day, and that's it until the album comes out.